For many high school students, good study habits don’t always come naturally. High school is a time when many students first begin having homework from a high-volume of teachers, all who have different teaching styles and different approaches to homework assignments and testing. It is completely normal if great study habits don’t necessarily come easily to your child.
As a parent, you may be unsure of exactly how much you should be helping and/or supervising your child with their homework and general studying. Learning effective study habits doesn’t simply result in higher grades. Great study habits can ingrain a skill set that will benefit your child in a variety of other areas, many of which have the possibility to last a lifetime. Additionally, it can also alleviate stress and help your child gain a better life balance. Utilizing these 4 strategies will help your teen develop top-notch study habits.
Get Organized
The very first thing you need to do to create exceptional study habits for your teen is to lay the organizational groundwork. Between the school day, studying, tests, extracurricular activities, a part-time job, and time with friends and family, your teen likely has a lot on their shoulders. One of the easiest ways to accomplish this is with a personal planner for your teen. This will enable them to write down assignments, deadlines and to-do lists. In today’s digital era, you will likely want to create a shared calendar for the entire family. This will help all of your activities sync up.
Consider the Study Environment
Creating a designated study environment for your teen is an excellent way to help them focus on studying. A coffee shop simply won’t cut it. Designating a quiet, well-lit space that has minimal interruptions or distractions can make all the difference in the world when it comes to creating great study habits.
Create a Detailed Study Plan
Help your teen create a detailed study plan with dates to keep track of what they should be accomplishing each day, each week and in each class. This will prevent your teen from the dreaded method of cramming the day before a big test. Skating by with late-night cramming as a study approach can create lasting negative habits that can trickle over into their careers later in life.
Set Expectations and Goals
No matter what type of approach your child’s high school takes to establishing expectations, it is important that you confirm they are in place. College-preparatory high schools, also known as a college prep high school, focus on establishing expectations and concrete goals for each student. This lets your teen know exactly where they stand on a daily basis, not just when their report card comes around 4 times a year. Break major goals into sub-sections of work to help them be able to feel they made progress toward completing a major goal. Any accomplishment they can check off will help reinforce positive study habits.